At least five businesses in Deschutes County are still in the appeal process for Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations for not enforcing mask requirements or allowing indoor activities while COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

The businesses — Full-Body Fitness in Redmond; Laui Life Coffee (owners of Kevista Coffee in Bend); Cinder Butte Meat Co. (formerly owned by Mehan & Sons Inc.) in Redmond; Cork Cellars Wine and Bistro in Sisters and Mo’s Egg House in Redmond — appealed their OSHA citations and are awaiting appeal hearings before the Workers’ Compensation Board in Oregon, the board that hears the appeals to OSHA cases.

These citations are for violations that OSHA classifies as “willful” — the most serious type of violation knowingly committed by an employer or supervisor. There is a backlog of cases awaiting resolution, said Aaron Corvin, Oregon OSHA spokesman.

Initially there were 25 citations issued against businesses in Deschutes County. All but these five have been paid or settled, Corvin said.

The fines for citations being appealed by these five businesses total $186,900. Chief among the citations are three “willful” violations facing Kevista Coffee owners totaling $116,700, according to OSHA documents.

James Branegan, owner of Full-Body Fitness in Redmond, declined to comment about the June 2021 citation and $17,800 penalty for allowing customers to use the indoor fitness facility despite a prohibition on this kind of activity when the county was in the “extreme risk” category of COVID-19-related business closures. The fitness center also was cited for not ensuring all customers and employees wore face masks.

Emails and phone calls to Kevista Coffee were not returned, nor were emails to Mehan & Sons.

The owner of the Black Bear Diner in Redmond and Bend appealed citations from OSHA, but paid a reduced penalty under a monthly repayment plan, Corvin said. Initially the diner owner was fined $35,600 for willfully failing to follow prohibitions of on-premise consumption of food and drink. The citations were issued in April 2021 and were settled in 2023 with the last monthly payment being made in November, according to OSHA records.

Similarly, the Central Christian School in Redmond, which had been fined in February 2022 for failing to require staff and students to wear facial coverings indoors appealed and later settled. In the end, the school paid a fine of $8,900, reduced from the original fine of $10,920, according to OSHA records.

In all, OSHA issued 256 citations statewide from March 2020 through the end of the indoor business restrictions in 2023. Most of the COVID-19 related inspections were opened in response to complaints filed, Corvin said.

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OSHA fines still weigh against Central Oregon businesses

Nearly three-fourths of the citations were paid and not appealed, Corvin said. Typically it takes 18-30 months to reach an appeal resolution before an administrative law judge.

“Employers have a right to appeal,” Corvin said. “The settlements reflect that. We have seen our COVID-19 restrictions upheld. We tried really hard to move employers into compliance and part of that was public education, setting standards and enforcing them.”

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Oregon OSHA fines Kevista Coffee $27,470 for COVID-19 violations

The fines for Kevista’s three “willful” citations — for allowing customers to eat and drink indoors, for not enforcing mask mandates and for lacking an infection control plan — are awaiting adjudication before the administrative law judge.

According to the Oregon Secretary of State, the Kevista Coffee owners are Kevin and Krista Laulinger.